Beacon of Good Work

The heroes many choose to celebrate are often those who sacrificed their lives on the altar of nation building. But there are a handful of young Nigerians who are passionately working on reforming the country from the sidelines. One of them is Bekeme Masade, the Executive Director, CSR-in-Action.

Born on August 19, 1982, Masade cultivated her interest in social work as the Housing Project Coordinator and Communications Officer at the Royal Borough of Kingston (RBK), United Kingdom since 2007. She and her team organised town hall meetings for residents of the borough, and composed literature on borough activities in the local press, online and local government journals.

She had the duty of overseeing the housing renovation scheme while managing awareness campaigns on new projects. Later, she worked as a Central Project Executive at the Surrey County Council, UK, contributing to Communications, Policy and Performance Development, and managing performance measurement statistics for the Borough.

One day, she slept and woke up to a whole new idea for Nigeria. She had discovered that there was no mechanism for monitoring and reporting on social ethics, social responsibility and corporate governance in her home country. That thought led to the birth of CSR-in-Action, a non-profit organisation that drives social responsibility in business. The organisation organises an annual ranking of businesses on sustainability lines using the 3C-index.

CSR-in-Action compiled the first ever social investment report in Nigeria titled ‘The Collective Social Report: Nigeria 2012’ which was endorsed by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), supported by United Nations Global Compact (UNGC).

As fascinating as her profile is today, the road to her current destination has not been bump-free. This English Language graduate was selected in 2008 as one of the 18 successful and young professional contestants in Africa and the Diaspora to participate in The Apprentice Africa, a career-oriented reality show.

Before millions of viewers across the continent, she showcased her skills in product development, financial reporting and presentation, marketing and sales, advert conceptualisation and content development, development of corporate strategy and mission statements, product branding and price setting on every episode. She was even tipped as one of the likely winners at the show but then, due to a terribly ill-timed typhoid infection, she left the show prematurely.

After The Apprentice Africa, Masade was appointed Head of ISO implementation, Business Process Improvement at Bank PHB, Nigeria. Amongst other tasks, she drove the implementation of CRM procedures, and facilitated the PHB Service town hall forum, and first ever Carol Service to foster bonding within the organisation.

In 2009, she left to pursue a career in public relations, having gained experience as an editorial assistant at the Guardian Newspaper and a presenter on Galaxy Television for the programme, Musique Grafitti. She had been conscious of people in her work.

Although huge working hours might have taken its toll on her energy, nothing could stop Masade from standing for what is just. Thus, she took her bit off the Nigerian cake of challenges and remained resolute in steering a new course for great Nigeria by beaming light on social responsibility.

“The frightening reality is that questionable morals and sectionalism have become a culture that had seeped into the mentality of the average Nigerian,” she remarked.

Her new initiative, ‘The Good Citizen’ is geared towards sensitising the citizens on the call for collective action in being responsible in civic duties.

“We want people to reflect on the notion of right and wrong. Recently, I read an article that compares Nigeria and Mexico and even though we are similar in terms of culture, somehow we differ in the way the individuals in those two places behave,” she observed.

Having worked in the terrain where social responsibility is a big deal, she thought the notion is larger than just “giving back to the society” as many would describe it.

“Well, the truth is that the average person thinks of welfare when you say CSR. In my opinion, it is the institution that needs to build and then raise individual consciousness. It is not just about giving back; it is about establishing a foundation for change. Yes, social infrastructure is necessary but we’re looking at power. Empowerment is also crucial.

“Our economy is not as diversified as it should be. We need product diversification. For me, I see quick wins that we can build upon in the long run. Instead of trying to do many big things at the same time, we choose to focus on the little things that we can get done and set a solid foundation.”

Masade and her team also provide capacity building for professionals in partnership with some universities in the UK. The report on corporate governance is done for free by her organisation. Interestingly too, Masade typically doesn’t seek for foreign grants to support her social enterprise for good reasons.

“CSR-in-Action is not quite a charity but it is focused on social development so it is really not for profit. We’re working from the institution policy angle and we are targeting those who are already proliferating that space,” she revealed.

The CSR-in-Action is currently working on the next conference on sustainability in the extractive industry. On October 23, the stakeholders in the industry would gather in Lagos to deliberate on the theme, ‘Unleashing the Potential within the Extractive Industry’.

Armed with the report from Accenture and Ernst&Young, Masade has a clear vision for social development in Nigeria and indeed, Africa. Masade who hails from Kogi state always thinks of national unity in most all her social work including ‘The Good Citizen’ initiative.

-This Day Live